Angie's List helps you hire the best - and avoid the rest!

Tardiness is the #1 complaint against Gainesville Remodeling Contractors

Shop with us to ensure a fair price

Our complaint resolution team will help if a project goes bad

+See Verified Local Reviews

Over 45,329 reviews forGainesville Remodeling Contractors from people just like you.

A

"All work was done efficiently and competently. They even tied drain lines from one side of the house to the other in order to save costs. Workers are polite and" ...More knowledgeable. The owner inspects all work when completed to ensure satisfaction.
Have used this company for our rental property repairs, and are 100% satisfied with their work. I will continue to call them for future repairs, and highly recommend this company to others.

-Deborah V.

A

"These guys keep their word—period. We are restoring a D.C. tow house to its turn-of-the-century grandeur, and

and

" ...More kept our (picky!) taste in mind every step of the way. We needed our first floor done for the holidays, and they delivered the project on a silver platter. Anytime we needed help or had questions, concerns or needed to vent,

and

were—and are—there for us.
The party ain't over yet—we are now working on a complete English basement renovation, and

Local Articles in Gainesville

If you own a home and have never been to a Home and Garden Show, this is a great opportunity to see what you’ve been missing. Angie’s List experts attend hundreds of shows around the U.S. to help homeowners like you connect with local professionals whose business is to make your home improvement dreams into realities.
Check out our tour dates below and put us on your calendar. Make sure to stop by and see us at the show to take advantage of the lowest membership price Angie’s List has to offer, or just say hello and pick up some free literature and other fun goodies!

Inspiration & Ideas

Angie's Answers

An itemized list / cost breakdown, more often than not is used against the contractor when it is shared with other builders who will then beat it.

Good contractors use good people, and good people cost more. Just the cost of having the appropriate insurance / bond can be the difference between winning a job or losing it ot a 'lower bid'.

It is the rule of three; there is Good, Cheap and Fast. You can have any two: Good and Cheap, won't be Fast; Good and Fast, won't be Cheap; Cheap and Fast, won't be Good!

When comparing bids, it isn't the cheapest or the 'nicest' person you should select. You should understand why there is a large price difference (it shows there are gaps in your design program or what you have asked for specifically, which means there may be arguments later). If most of the bids are in line, and one is way high or way low, you want to know why before dismissing or selecting them.

There are two sides to this and everyone will have an opinion. I can tell you that from a contractor's point of view a customer that is up front with me is much easier to work with and the entire experience is much more pleasurable to all parties involved. If you treat your contractor like there's always something to hide from him expect the same in return. A good contractor is going to take your budget into consideration and make recommendations based on that budget. When possible, he's going to estimate the work 10-20% under your target to leave room for the unexpected. With any remodeling work, there's always the possibility and likelihood that there will be surprises that will have to be added such as mold damage, improper existing framing, etc. The cushion allows room for the project cost to grow without going over your budget. If no problems are found and you decide to spend that money some of the final finishes can be upgraded or other projects added.

Another good arguement for disclosing your budget to your contractor is to save you both some time and aggrevation. You may have a $10,000 budget and want $30,000 worth of work. Wouldn't you like to know your desires aren't possible before you get your hopes up or spend money on design fees for plans you can't afford? Likewise, the contractor doesn't want to put in the hours of calculating the estimate only to find out it was all for nothing or that he has to refigure for a much lower cost after pricing what you specified.

Be fair and honest with your contractor if you expect the same respect in return. You'll get a lot more out of it with the right contractor.

Herlonginc's answer stated that it is not the contractor's job to pay for materials and labor to do the job. I say baloney - a reputable, established contractor has the funds (or a business operations line of credit) to "carry" the job between interim or partial payments, each of which should be keyed to completion of distinct easily measured mileposts in the job, and for a homeowner I would say should be in not more than 20% increments for jobs exceeding a week or so. For shorter jobs, then an initial payment, 50% completion, and completion would be normal. His cost of carry funds is part of his cost of doing business, and is figured as part of his overhead.Bear in mind when he is buying materials and paying labor, his materials he typically pays for on a 10-30 day invoice, and his labor typically a week or two after they work, so he is not really "fronting" that much money if you are giving him weekly or biweekly interim payments, on a typical residential job.

If he does not have the funds to buy materials (excepting possibly deposit on special-order or luxury items, which still typically are 10-30 day invoiceable to him) and hire personnel then he is a fly-by-night operation, and he should not be bidding that size job. You should never (other than MAYBE an earnest deposit of not more than the LESSER of 10% or $5000) let the payments get ahead of the approved/inspected work progress - typically payment should be 10-20% BEHIND the progress, with at least 10% retained at the effective end of work until final inspections and completion of the final "punchlist".

That promotes rapid continuation of the work, discourages the all-too common nightmare of contractors taking on more work than they can handle so they leave your job for weeks or months to go work on someone else's job (frequently to start that someone else's new job so he can get the job), and does not leave you out a tremendous amount of cash if he does not finish and you have to hire another contractor to finish the job. Remember, if you have to hire a new contractor to finish the job, he will charge you a lot more than the original bid to finish someone else's unfinished mess.

This may seem cynical, but having started in the construction business about 50 years ago and seeing the shenanigans that a lot of contractors pull you cannot be too safe. You have to remember contractors are like any other people - I would say maybe 10% are outright crooks, another 25% or so will pull a fast one or overcharge if the opportunity presents itself, maybe 30% will do the work but not any better than they are forced to, about 25% are good conscientious reputable workmen, and the last 10% or so are really spectacular - conscientious, fair, and efficient craftsmen. This top 35% are the only ones you should have bidding in the first place. Therefore, only get bids from long-term reputable firms (so you shake out the marginal short-timers with less experience and also generally less ability to finish the job on budget and schedule), only those that have good RECENT references, and preferably with excellent word-of-mouth recommendation from people you know and trust. That way, you are starting right off with the cream of the crop, so hopefully whichever one bids low should be a good choice.

NEVER start with bids, then check the references of the low bidder - why even consider a vendor or contractor who you do not have faith in from the start ? Get references and short-list you possibles BEFORE you ask for bids.

Low bids - that is another matter - commonly the low bidder is NOT who you want, especially if he is significantly lower than several others, which might mean he is desperate for work, made a math error, or did not correctly figure the entire scope of work. You want a reasonable bid with someone you connect with and trust - that is worth a lot more in the success of the job than the absolute lowest bid.

You should always get a set of print and pull a permit when remodeling you home. It is a good thing that you want to be involved in your project. I do have some reservation about the electrical work. There is a lot at risk with doing the work yourself. If the house burns down you will never get the insurance money, unless your a certified electrician. Now of days 90% of home fires are blamed on electrical problems because the insurance company is to lazy and cheap to investigate the true problem. Also find out if the city you live in will allow you to perform the work. Make sure you coordinate your subs to have the proper time and space to perform their job. You don't want people working on top of each other. If you order all you materials make sure everything is there before you start your project. Have your subs check for proper and full items to be installed. Make sure every sub has a working set of prints. Make sure you have all the demo done before your subs show up to work. Schedule your plumber first, do any final framing or electrical work while you wait for inspection. Electrical inspection next followed by framing, insulation, and wallboard. All subs must get a final inspection on the job before you (the GC) can call in your final inspection.

Home Remodeling reviews in Gainesville

A

Rating

“

Contractor and all subs work was outstanding. Also, very professional and friendly. Neighbors even commented on quality and professional approach. Highly recommend.”

- Mike W.

A

Rating

“

They did an outstanding job which surpassed our expectations. This bathroom stands out from the other rooms in the home. Since it is an older property they found that there were multiple layers of tile to remove and the base floor was rotted. Even though they did not estimate for this, the total costs remained the same. They also went above ...More and beyond in retrofitting the vanity we purchased to fit the plumbing in our bathroom. Outstanding experience.”

- Jeff D.

A

Rating

“

Our experience was great.

is never easy, but

and all of his subs made it as easy as possible. They were always on time and did what they said they were going to do. They even took extra care to accommodate our nervous cats.

's responsiveness to questions was great and he has ...More a giant pile of patience. Although we had delays with missing parts, everything went pretty smoothly. They did everything they said they were going to do and it is clear that

cares about the quality of the work. ”

- Eric O.

C

Rating

“

We found H-

& Around

on Angie's List and, because they were close to our home and had great reviews, I contacted them for a quote.

, the salesman, came out to take a look at my space and find out what services I was needing. I felt like he took his time taking measurements ...More and pictures and then got back to me very quickly with a quote. He came to my home to discuss the quote with me and went over everything to make sure I knew all the ins and outs of the project and to make sure he had everything covered.

told me the job would last about 3 days. Once we decided to go ahead with the job,

asked me when they could get started. I gave him dates that worked for me, but he came back to me with dates that would work better for them. Although those dates were a big inconvenience for me (I was extremely busy with work and would be watching a friend's small children during that time), he assured me that they would be in and out quickly and keep the space clean and as free of dust and debris as possible.

The first 2 days went very smooth. They had a large crew that were working hard and getting things done. On day 3 is when things changed. They were obviously not going to finish in the 3 days they originally quoted me, but they decided to only send a 1 man crew out. He didn't show up until around 11 am, then forgot something at the shop, so he had to go there and then had lunch. So he really didn't start working until between 1-2 pm that day. He got very little done on his own, and the work he did do was not very good. This guy showed up extremely late the next two day, as well, and continued on the same path of forgetting things at the shop and taking extremely long trips to the hardware store. They also threw away my original baseboards that they removed and then tried to replace them with something that looked no where near the same as the rest of the baseboards in my house. After I complained about this 1 man crew and the terrible work he was doing, JR, the owner, came out to take a look. He ended up sending a different crew out to complete the job.
The job ultimately took 10 working days. We were not able to put anything back in our pantry for several days after that while the paint was drying on the shelves, so it wasn't until days later that we noticed that the shelves were not done to the measurements we had asked for. We wanted them spaced so that we could fit our large cereal boxes on each, but it didn't fit. The shelves also sag in the middle. I sent several pictures to

, but he never responded. Neither

or JR came out to take a look at the final job and neither one even called me.
We had several other jobs that we needed done around our home, but we will not be going with H-

& Around. ”

- Amber H.

A

Rating

“

Overall, things went really well. The company was super reliable and very respectful of us (we were living upstairs). The job went a little longer than planned by a couple months but they stuck to the budget very tightly. The quality of the work was very high and the space is very comfortable. They have a 5 year warranty on the work and have been ...More very responsive for any minor issues that have arisen. ”

- Nicola D.

B

Rating

“

I needed 9 kitchen cabinets installed in a rental property, so I took advantage of Moss' Angie's List deal for Handyman for a Day for $499. Normally, contractors would charge at least double that amount, so I was very pleased that Moss agreed to the project. A Moss project manager thought that it would probably take more than a day, which ...More I didn't want, especially because of the hourly rate they charge, though I'm sure it's comparable to other area contractors. I decided to remove the old cabinets in order to save time. I couldn't remove the base cabinets, so Moss' carpenter completed the remaining demolition and disconnected the plumbing. I had planned to have the work done on a Monday, but I encountered a problem and needed it postponed to Tuesday. Moss was able to accommodate the change, which was great. Unfortunately a snowstorm hit Monday night, so the carpenter was delayed until Wednesday. I was assured that he would be there Wednesday, which was important because I only had that week to have the work done. At 7 am Wednesday, the project manager called to say that the carpenter, because of where he lived and the snow there, couldn't make it. I got upset and would not accept the delay. Luckily, after a few hours, the carpenter arrived at noon. He worked steadily and did an excellent job installing the cabinets, except when it came to cutting spaces in the base cabinets for the plumbing and disconnecting the garbage disposal. The next day when the plumber came to reconnect everything, he found that the cutout for the discharge pipe was putting pressure on the pipe causing a slope toward the sink instead of allowing it to be level. The carpenter also cut the wires to the disposal too short, which then required the plumber to spend a lot of time creating a solution. The carpenter didn't quite finish the job, so another contractor came the next morning to finish. The second contractor was excellent. After submitting photos of the plumbing problems to the project manager, he agreed to give me substantial credit for the extra time the plumber had to spend, which I felt was very fair and appropriate customer service.
Overall, Moss is a very good and professional company, as indicated by others' experiences, but perhaps the carpenter didn't have the knowledge he needed regarding the plumbing.”

- Thomas C.

A

Rating

“

did great and really saved me from a no-show by another contractor. Referred to me by

from Artisan Granite.
He was on time, and got right to work. For the kitchen backsplash he used a 1/16th grout line between my 6 x 6 Daltile Briton bone tiles from Home Depot. We inserted 2 x 2 metal medallions ...More on their points. Above the range he fashioned a 6 x 6 medallion out of the remaining 2 x 2's. Looks very nice, and I'm happy with it.
Next day, it was a smaller job to apply sheets of mosaic piano glass from Lowes, "Falling Dunes" on 2 walls of surround for the backsplash around my vanity sink area. Looks great, he did a good job.
I would use

Tile again, no problem. This guy is a very experienced tiler and it shows in the pride in his work.

”

- Judy S.

D

Rating

“

Contractor provided really nice aesthetics, was generally pleasant to deal with, and delivered a nice implementation of the design I presented. Unfortunately, as I had told him at our first meeting, my main reason for replacing the old patio cover was a leak over the back porch. He verbally guaranteed me that it would not leak when he was done. The ...More job also involved replacing gutters in and around the patio cover, which a subcontractor did.
During the project, he jumped ahead of me several times, and did things that I had not approved, so he could move along faster without waiting for my input. I accepted these decisions, rather than make him rebuild, as they were acceptable aesthetically, if not what I had envisioned. Job was done in early fall, and there were no rains for some weeks afterward. When the rains came, the cover leaked in about 5 places, and the gutters leaked in several places as well.
I called

, and he came over and attempted to address the leaks. Each time he came over, there was minor improvement, but most of the leaks persisted. Eventually, he did some very sloppy insertion of new shingles on my roof around the leaking areas, and over the back porch, as well as a piece of aluminum. Now it looked unprofessional and still leaked. After 3 follow up visits, he stopped returning my phone calls. So his promise of no leaks was an empty promise.
Later, I realized that he had installed the polycarbonate panels in the cheapest possible way, not using horizontal closure strips, and therefore placing the anchor screws in the valleys (instead of the peaks) which caused debris dams, and further leaking.
His gutter subcontractor also did a sloppy job, and got very angry and aggressive with me on the phone because I hadn't paid him. I explained that I hadn't paid because the gutters were still leaking, and that I would pay when that was addressed.
During and immediately after construction, I would have given him a B rating, but after seeing how he dealt with the leaks and follow-up, C's and D's are all I can give him.
I've only just joined Angie's List, or I would have posted this long ago.”